Samantha Bee has been vocal in her criticism about America’s lax gun laws from the get-go: Back in April, Full Frontal ran a segment about the host’s attempts to track down an Eddie Eagle costume for her personal, almost-certainly hilarious use. This undertaking proved significantly more difficult than buying guns, which the Full Frontal staff was able to do in a parking lot. It seems the gun-lobbying group is much more reticent about allowing Americans to get their hands on an Eddie Eagle costume than on a Desert Eagle.
Bee presented even more damning evidence against what passes for gun control in this country on last night’s episode of Full Frontal, in which she skipped the opening to address last weekend’s mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando. The Full Frontal host didn’t hold back—she’s grief-stricken over the 49 deaths, but also furious about the useless platitudes and “thoughts and prayers” that come from legislators who refuse to do anything to limit access to assault rifles whose only purpose is “portable mayhem.”
Bee does wonder briefly if she can just scream for the whole seven minutes before the first commercial break, since Sunday’s attack was preceded by a shooting on Friday in the same city. But as cathartic as that might have been, she actually spends the bulk of the episode delving into all of the issues surrounding the Orlando shooting. Bee calls out Florida governor Rick Scott for evading questions about tougher gun laws, while also pointing out that he’s spent most of his time in office avoiding enacting tougher gun laws. But she hasn’t forgotten about the gun lobbyists. In this look at Florida’s flawed mental health system, which will soon see an overhaul, Bee asks the “from my cold, dead hands” crowd—some of whom have tried to shift discussion of mass shootings away from gun legislation to mental illness—why the fuck they aren’t lobbying for reforms to the mental health system.